MMPC Learniverse - Rethinking Rabbits: Integrating the New Shelter Housing Guidelines (On Demand)

Dr. Sarah Hicks, DVM is a shelter medicine veterinarian, educator, and outreach leader currently serving as Outreach Veterinarian and Clinical Instructor with the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. She brings more than a decade of hands on experience spanning frontline shelter care, medical leadership, and academic teaching, with a career grounded in improving animal welfare through practical, evidence based approaches.

Dr. Hicks previously served as Medical Director and Interim Executive Director at Companion Animal Alliance in Baton Rouge, where she led medical operations while supporting organizational change and community centered care. A graduate of Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, she has also completed the UW and UC Davis Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Fellowship and holds multiple certifications in Fear Free shelter care, workplace wellbeing, racial equity, facilitation, and mental health first aid.

Her professional interests include capacity for care, infectious disease management, kitten and neonatal care, leveraging veterinary resources in shelter settings, and building sustainable systems that support both animals and people. Dr. Hicks is a published author and frequent national speaker, sharing practical strategies with shelter teams across the country on topics ranging from outbreak management to humane housing and community engagement. She is an active member of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians and the American Veterinary Medical Association, and remains deeply passionate about empowering shelter staff with tools that improve outcomes and everyday operations.

Dr. Jonna Swanson, DVM is a shelter medicine veterinarian with more than 15 years of experience advancing accessible, compassionate veterinary care across animal shelters, community clinics, and international outreach programs. She currently serves as Shelter Veterinarian at Elk Grove Animal Services in California, where she leads medical operations, performs daily surgery including rabbit spay and neuter, and collaborates across departments to improve animal flow and capacity for care. Dr. Swanson previously held leadership roles as Medical Director of Shelter Medicine at Animal Friends in Pittsburgh and Assistant Clinical Professor of Shelter Medicine at the University of Minnesota, where she helped shape shelter medicine curriculum and trained hundreds of veterinary students. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Swanson’s career spans high volume spay and neuter, infectious disease management, community cat programs, humane investigations, and global animal welfare work. Her passion centers on improving outcomes for vulnerable animal populations through practical, evidence informed shelter medicine and collaborative team based care.

Dr. Hedge, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DABVP is Vice President of Shelter Medicine and Chief Medical Officer at San Diego Humane Society, where she leads medical operations across a large multi campus system and oversees shelter hospitals, community medicine programs, veterinary education, and outreach initiatives. A board certified specialist in both Shelter Medicine and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Dr. [Name] brings more than a decade of experience advancing high quality, accessible care for animals and communities through innovative shelter programs, HQHVSN surgery, community cat initiatives, and student training.

She previously served as Assistant Professor of Shelter Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences, where she built an affordable care teaching clinic from the ground up and helped develop graduate shelter medicine training programs. Her career also includes completing one of the first three year shelter medicine residencies in partnership with Oregon Humane Society and Oregon State University, along with extensive work in community based veterinary outreach through organizations such as Rural Area Veterinary Services and the ASPCA.

Dr. Hedge holds a DVM with Honors Distinction, an MPH from the University of Minnesota, and is currently pursuing an MS in Veterinary Forensic Science at the University of Florida. Her professional focus centers on population health, community centered care, education, and building sustainable shelter medicine systems that improve outcomes for animals while supporting the people who care for them.

Chumkee obtained her DVM degree at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. She then completed an internship at the ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in NYC in 2013, which included experience in anti-cruelty work and shelter medicine. Chumkee was a resident at the KSMP from 2013-2016. She headed the Northern Tier Shelter Initiative and served as Senior Director of Shelter Medicine Services at the ASPCA before returning to the KSMP in January, 2022 as an outreach veterinarian.Her current interests include the role of community collaboration in mitigating pet homelessness, proactive shelter population management, and infectious disease prevention in shelters.